


a light in the dark

by nurturedwhims



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Apartment AU, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Femslash, which isn't really a thing, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 04:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3676869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nurturedwhims/pseuds/nurturedwhims
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being locked outside her apartment definitely put the day at the bottom of Lydia's week.<br/>Allison's presence might have helped. Just maybe.</p><p>[Or the five times Lydia and Allison were in the same corridoor through bad luck and the one time it was actually planned.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	a light in the dark

1.  
Lydia had gotten pretty good at blocking out external sounds in her months here. There was the whirring coffee machine from the apartment above that echoed through each morning, the TV from two doors down whose owner insisted on aged westerns, not to mention the pop music from the girls opposite that bled through at frustratingly late hours. This place had an order of sounds, a cycle of known things, layered over one another.

When Lydia heard the strums of a guitar float from her hall it stood out. There was something discordant about them, they scratched the cycles here, even with their internal melody. They floated through the relative quiet on a lazy weekend afternoon, gentle notes and louder cords that interrupted her study. She couldn’t place the song, or who in the building could even be playing it. Perhaps someone new had arrived; the old lady who had lived in 5b hadn’t been making her usual banging sounds and she knew that her son had wanted her to move back home for weeks. The music ended up distracting her from writing, put Lydia's word count for the day lower than she had hoped. There had just never been music like this before, it wasn’t that it was bad. Rather just… distracting.

She didn’t actually see any new neighbour until a few weeks later, Lydia didn’t spend much time in the hall, nor did she see any reason to introduce herself to some frustrating man who had brought his acoustic guitar with him and would sit her down to play ‘Wonderwall’ as though he was making her life infinitely better. Not that she knew for sure it would be some man or indeed anyone who would even knew the song Wonderwall. But it was probable (Lydia had taken enough classes with a probability focus in college to not go with the likelihood). It wasn’t like anyone else already in her building had had anything to offer her, it wasn’t exactly likely any new neighbour would be more than a passing novelty. Not that Lydia’s place was a particularly bad building, or even an awful apartment. It just wasn’t anything more than a temporary space to Lydia, somewhere to be until she could live on more than a PhD student’s salary. By any stretch Lydia certainly didn’t link the tall retreating back of a girl with dark hair and worn boots who walked out the main entry one cold morning with a possible new neighbour. One of Lydia’s few mistakes.

 

2.

It was bad luck when she did finally met her. Lydia had managed to lock herself outside of the apartment and was waiting for Danny to bring the spare key set. He was the only one of her friends trustworthy enough to look after keys, one (very mistaken) experience with Stiles as her ‘reliable help’ was more than enough. She had been stupid really; in her hurry to get more ink so she could print her latest additions and go through it with pen to check it (a habit Lydia knew was very inconvenient in the modern electronic age, but her efforts to shake it had been thoroughly unsuccessful), she had left her keys locked inside. Leaving her stuck with nothing to do, just waiting outside with too expensive ink and a slowly dying phone. Lydia had resigned herself to sitting outside the door on the floor, as ridiculous as it looked, when a girl came up the stairs and caught sight of her.

“Can I help you?” The girl asked Lydia, her soft features drawn up in confusion. She was gorgeous, of course, because Lydia’s unlucky day was continuing and today apparently was the day she would meet a beautiful woman while sitting on a dirty floor with minimal makeup.

“No, I just locked myself out.” Lydia gestured at her door. “Just have to wait for my friend to bring the keys.”

“Right.” The girl paused for a moment, looking between Lydia and the line of closed doors. “Did you want to come inside? Just while you wait, I can’t imagine the floor’s very comfortable.”

Lydia’s puzzlement must have shown because the girl continued. “I live two doors down from you, I promise I’m not crazy or anything, I’ll even let you sit on the couch which is almost definitely softer than the ground.” She grinned at Lydia, and Lydia found herself rising from the floor before thinking twice about it, and following the girl inside.

The apartment was still clearly in the disorder of moving, books lined a wall in horizontal stacks that amazed Lydia by not toppling over, not yet in placed into a shelf. There was an unpacked box sitting in the middle of the floor and an empty looking lounge area with only a couch and a couple of mugs sitting on a still taped box that looked as though it was being used as a table. A sheet was being used instead of curtains in front of the wide window and a guitar rested against one of the walls.

“Sorry, I’m still getting sorted here, as you can probably see.” The girl looked sheepishly around her, “I’ve kind of gotten used to the mess to be honest, but it is slowly disappearing I promise. I would give you a tour, but it’s no doubt the same as your place.” The girl offered Lydia a smile, “I’m Allison, by the way.”

Lydia smiled back, “Lydia.” She didn’t say how much she wanted to see the girl’s room or how she didn’t mind the mess because at least it seemed like a proper life played out here, an interesting life with passions and intricacies she kind of wanted to discover. They sat together on a too soft couch and drank tea from a couple of chipped mugs. Allison spoke smiling about her new job as a pastry chef and her wish to start a band again. Lydia told her about the best coffee places and the farmer’s market that ran each fortnight where there was life changing blackberry jam.

They both jumped when Danny’s voice ran out from the hallway. Lydia vehemently denied to him that she was ‘lingering’ at Allison’s doorway to say goodbye. She spent exactly the right length of time for thankyous and farewells thank you very much (and no Danny, there was no need for that smirk. Seriously).

 

3.

Lydia was in the middle of her marking for History of Mathematics, a class that always seemed to be an odd mix of the arts students who didn’t care for maths and maths students who had forgotten how to write anything that wasn’t a formula, leaving an unsettling lack of any quality assignments Lydia could ever actually enjoy reading. As she had gotten onto something that could barely be described even an essay the lights flickered once above her, before blinking out and shrouding the room in darkness. Shit. Now she took the time to listen it did sound like the wind had picked up outside. Perhaps enough to take down a line outside. That sort of thing took ages to fix as well…

She felt her pockets briefly for her phone, before remembering it was definitely somewhere in the bedroom covered by at least half a drawer of clothes that she didn’t fancy wrangling through. Lydia got up and groped her way along the wall to the door. The rest of the corridor was dark too except for the dull green emitted from the ‘exit’ light. Great. At least she could find the exit into the storm outside if she really had to. As she turned to peer at the other end of the corridor she saw a figure move in the shadows.

“Ahh” 

A bright LED light was shined into Lydia’s face, keeping the other person in shadow. “Oh, Lydia” a voice said warmly.

“Allison?”

“Yeah. Guess it isn’t just my apartment then.”

“Mm. Seems not. Hey, fancy not blinding me anymore?” Allison abruptly turned the torch off, leaving them both in dark again.

“Sorry. I forgot. So blackout hey. Do you think it will be like this for long?”

“No idea. The wind still sounds like it is quite bad out there, it could take them a while to get it fixed.”

Allison hummed, flickering the torch back on and looking down either end of the hall. “You didn’t want to come back into mine did you? I mean I know you propbably have somewhere else to go with proper light, but if you didn’t…?”

“Oh. I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“Nonsense. I was only watching TV, a plan which has been thoroughly ruined it would seem. Plus candles are always better when there is more than one person there. More atmospheric.”

She grinned at Lydia, looking a little eerie in the reduced and green tinged light. Lydia’s night was a bust anyway without any electricity. She guessed it couldn’t really hurt.  
They ended up managing to make hot chocolate over Allison’s gas stove while an absurd number of tea light candles flickered around them. Lydia wasn’t sure if it tasted so nice because it was some sort of special mixture, or because it was made by actually heating it on a stove top the old fashioned way, or because she got to drink it and watch Allison’s face while it was lit by shifting light that illuminated the other girl’s dimples.

It was probably just the mixture. Perhaps Lydia should get the name of it from Allison at some point.

 

4.

Lydia was in the corridor again. She should have known having the others over at her house was never going to end well. It was her own fault really. They were notoriously bad in the morning following a night of drinking. She had been going to relocate to an actual café with actual food the moment she could just finish her sentence. 

That might have been a few sentences ago. But it was rare you were actually in a position words came easily, even if it left her stuck on the floor with an empty stomach.  
There was a thumping sound up the stairs then, “Lydia. Should I even bother to ask why you are on the floor this time?”

Allison was clearly back from a run, wearing leggings and a bright green top, her hair up in a pony-tail and sweat glistening slightly on her face and neck. Lydia could hear the faint sound of music coming from the headphones around her neck. She shook herself away from staring at the girl and went to explain, “My apartment has been taken over by ‘friends’ who forget how badly the deal with hangovers and are therefore still thoroughly asleep but would expect breakfast if I actually started making something in my apartment.”

Allison still looked a bit confused and Lydia clarified, “I was going to go out to a café or something, but writing might have stopped that path.”

“I wasn’t planning much for breakfast, but I can offer you some scrambled eggs?” Allison looked a bit unsurely at Lydia, lips quirking at her slightly. “I mean, I’m sure you would rather go to a café but if you didn’t fancy going out…” She died off, looking at the floor beside Lydia. 

“Someone as lovely as you offering to cook for me? I’d be a fool to say no.”

Lydia didn’t think she was imagining the blush on Allison’s cheeks as they went into the other girl’s apartment. 

(Lydia definitely wasn’t blushing when Allison walked out from her shower with only a pale green towel on, athletic legs long and silent as she padded to her door and her dark damp hair dripping down her bare shoulder. She was barely even looking, just happened to glance that way. The heat in her cheeks was probably from the hot coffee anyway.)

 

5.

It really was just the worst time to have a cold. It was coming into summer for god’s sake, it wasn’t like the sunny weather outside matched the ridiculous fevers and cold sweats she was having. Not only was it keeping her from working, at this rate she wouldn’t even be able to enjoy Scott’s wedding coming up in the next weekend because she would still be sick and sneezing and a running red nose won’t look even remotely good with the outfit Lydia has planned. She was just leaving the apartment to buy some cold and flu medicine, after realising she foolishly never stocked up from last year, when she found herself starting to sneeze again. Ugh and that was definitely snot in her nose and shit she definitely had tissues somewhere but if they weren’t in her pockets where could they be and ugh she really just needed to get back in bed and sleep for days if that meant it would go away.

Suddenly a folded tissue was held near Lydia’s face and great. Just her luck.

“You look like you need a hand?”

Lydia at least managed to blow her nose and be marginally less congested before answering Allison, “I’m jusd a bid sick.”

“Where are you even going? You should be resting.” Allison’s concern was palpable, she reached an arm out to touch Lydia’s arm, before halting and dropping it slowly.

“I am jusd gedding some med’cine. Got work to do anyway.”

Allison stepped back and took a look at Lydia, before closing in again and putting a gentle arm around her shoulders. “Lydia you need rest, come sit inside for a bit and I’ll nip and get some medicine for you.”

“Don’ be ridiculous. I’m fine really.”

Allison raised an eyebrow at her, “Lydia your sweater is on inside out, which even you must realise is a sign this is a serious sickness we are dealing with. So,” she spoke above Lydia’s mumbled replies, “you are going to come and sit down on my couch with a blanket and whatever movie you wish to see, I will go to get you medicine, then come back and make us both soup. And I will hear no words against my plan unless they are agreements or promises to pay me back one day by writing about me in the acknowledgment section of your thesis”

Lydia ended up falling asleep halfway through the movie and woke to find the blanket draped across her back and the curtains drawn, shielding the light and noise from outside. Allison was highlighting pages from an old collated notebook her room, with the door open ajar so Lydia could just see her curled figure on the bed. She smiled into the pillow and let her eyes drift shut again. Perhaps a little more sleep might be a good idea.

 

\+ 1.

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

Lydia walked up the stairs lugging some groceries for the week as Allison called out to her.

She smiled brightly. “Allison”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, I’m getting there. The rest helped I think.”

“Good. Hopefully you’ll be able to stay out of my apartment for more than a fortnight then!” Allison joked as she passed Lydia. She had almost entered the stairwell when Lydia turned to call out to her.

“Allison! Wait! Are you free this weekend?”

Allison was smiling softly at her, “Yeah, I should be.”

“It’s my friend’s wedding. Out of the city but not too far from here. Did you want to come with me? Maybe?”

“I’d love to. It’s a date.”

Lydia couldn’t hold back her wide smile anymore. “I’ll meet you at 11.30 on Saturday in the corridor then.”

 

It was well into Sunday morning when they came home from the wedding tired and still a little drunk. It had been fun; lots of dancing, very well chosen food (Lydia thinks that was probably not Scott’s domain), and Kira had looked beautiful in her dress and Stiles speech made her cry with laughter and tears (not that she was going to admit that to him.) They had sent Kira and Scott off on a literal horse drawn carriage (it did make for a dramatic end she supposed) and the murmurs in the taxi were the perfect level of frivolity and the kind of conversations that can only happen after midnight.

Allison was laughing as she leaned against Lydia’s doorway, just illuminated by the light from Lydia’s place and dark hair falling in perfect curls against her neck. She placed a gentle hand on Lydia’s hip, fingers rubbing a small circle against the smooth fabric.

“I’m kind of glad you had so much bad luck.”

Lydia gasped! “Allison Argent! How can you say something so cruel?” Then she shuffled forward, her toes almost hitting Allison’s. “I’m kind of glad you were there to save me so many times.”

“Goodnight Lydia.”

Lydia closed the distance between them that was inevitable and had seemed almost impenetrable until the moment her lips finally met with Allison’s. They were almost the same height, (thankyou heels) and Lydia had to only turn her head slightly to the left. She brought up her hand to curl it around Allison’s soft hair and tasted the sweet watermelon gloss Lydia had watched her apply all day.

Allison curved round so Lydia’s back was against the wall, the hand on Lydia’s hip sneaking round to pull them closer together. Lydia lost herself in the breaths between them, in the cool of Allison’s dress and warmth of an arm holding her close. Eventually time started again. Lydia kissed Allison briefly and breathed into their space and soft “goodnight.”

Neither of them made any moves to step away though. Allison hid a laugh in Lydia’s shoulder, “one of us is going to have to move.” 

Lydia hummed an agreement but stayed still anyway. 

“Fine. I’ll go.” Allison finally stepped away, the loss of her warmth wasn’t so bad though when she continued speaking, “will you come to dinner with me tomorrow.”  
“Absolutely”

 

Lydia definitely did not wait until Allison had entered her apartment to finally shut her door. Or spend more than an hour failing to fall asleep because she couldn’t stop smiling about the night. No. Nothing like that happened at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> This is what I did instead of my much required study. Sigh. Can't help writing about these two.
> 
> :)


End file.
